About
Artist Bio
From an early age Eric Clay had a deep affinity for the natural world. However, growing up in a suburban Florida community afforded him few opportunities to venture into nature. Instead he spent countless hours reading about and viewing photos of the world at large, dreaming of a day when he could experience it all first hand.
After being drawn to a variety of creative fields throughout his teen years, Eric eventually ended up working full-time in advertising doing web and graphic design. It was here that his work as a photographer began to take shape as a supplement to his design work. He developed a variety of photographic skills both in and out of a studio encompassing a wide variety of subjects.
In 2008, a transition away from full-time work to freelance allowed Eric to have more time to combine his love of nature and photography and begin travelling around the country shooting landscapes. Today he has built an impressive portfolio of fine art landscape imagery with placement in galleries and exhibitions at juried art shows.
Artist Statement
Through my photography, I seek to capture the landscapes of the natural world in a way that creates a sense of history, time and change. Some of my many subjects include geological formations that took millions of years to be sculpted from the land, fleeting moments of seasonal change and the effects that time and nature have on the man-made landscape.
The goals of my photography are multi-faceted. Above all I hope to inspire in others a desire to more thoroughly appreciate the world around them. I take great pleasure in others seeing the amazing things that await them out there if they are only willing to seek them. I also want to spread awareness that if these amazing things are not protected from threats, be they environmental, physical, or even ideological, they may not survive for future generations.
Process
All of my photos are shot digitally in RAW format and minimally processed. The images are developed on a silver halide based photographic paper using a Lightjet machine which uses a laser to expose the traditional paper. The limited Editions use a specialized process to permanently front mount the images to the back of an acrylic sheet. This method produces images with an incredible amount of depth, contrast and saturation.
Learn more about the prints and limited editions.
Awards & Recognition
2019 – Melbourne Art Festival – Award of Merit
2019 – Mainsail Art Festival – Award of Distinction
2016 – Naples Portfolio Magazine – Featured Artist
2016 – St. Johns River Festival of the Arts – Award of Distinction
2015 – Maitland Art Under the Stars – Best of Category
2015 – Mainsail Art Festival – Award of Distinction
2015 – Lake Eola Fall Fiesta in the Park – First Place Fine Art
2014 – South Miami Art Festival – Third Place Photography
2014 – St. Stephen’s Art Festival – Poster Artist
2014 – Lake Eola Spring Fiesta in the Park – Third Place Fine Art
2013 – South Miami Art Festival – Third Place Photography
2011 – Melbourne Fall Art Festival – Award of Merit
2011 – Lake Eola Spring Fiesta in the Park – Best of Show
